Not a possession
by SageK
Summary: What if rachel had said no, but phrased it as, "Well for one you'll never truly understand what it means to be a Jew. And second I already promised Noah I'd marry him when we were 7." from a prompt. FIXED!


It began in the choir room.

Of course.

Finn had just finished serenading her and was staring at her hopefully, practically willing his song to convince her to accept his proposal.

The words were out of Rachel's mouth before she even realized she was speaking. "I'm sorry, Finn, I can't."

His face crumpled in confusion. "Why?"

She didn't want to hurt him, didn't want to tell him that she knew they weren't meant to go the distance. She didn't want to tell him she doubted his sincerity when he claimed he'd follow her to New York.

Best to let him down lightly.

"Well, for one, you'll never truly understand what it means to be a Jew. And second, I already promised Noah I'd marry him when I was seven."

Immediately, she regretted saying the second part, as it was akin to waving a red flag in front of a bull.

"What!" Finn bellowed, spinning on his heel and stalking out of the room.

Chasing him down the hall, Rachel caught him just before he reached the lockers where Noah was chatting with Artie, Quinn, Santana and Brittany. "Finn, stop, I was attempting to alleviate the tense moment with a joke!"

Though he seemed unsure of her words, he slowed. "So you didn't say you'd marry him?"

Rachel blinked. Really? "Well, no, I did agree to marry Noah, but we were 7 and a RingPop was involved. I hardly think either of us place much stock in that."

"What's going on?" Artie asked, looking back and forth between them. Quinn clearly knew what was happening while Noah and Santana appeared suspicious. Brittany, bless her, had no idea.

Stabbing a finger in Rachel's direction, Finn proclaimed, "I asked her to marry me and she said no. Something about me not being Jewish and her saying yes to Puck when they were little."

That actually made Noah let out a half laugh. "Oh yeah, at the JCC picnic."

She hadn't thought he'd remember.

"That's sweet," Brittany said with a smile. "Baby Puckleberry!"

"What is this, 1950?" Santana asked, staring at Finn like he groaned the second head. "Proposing before high school graduation? That's not the kind of retro that's moderately cool."

Ignoring her and glaring at Noah, Finn declared, "Sing off!"

Brows climbing towards his Mohawk, Noah asked, "You're not serious?"

"Totally," Finn growled. "Whoever loses backs off."

Noah gave Rachel a confused look, but she was out as much of a loss as he was.

Quinn heaved a sigh. "This isn't like when Jesse was around, Finn. Whatever you're thinking is all in your head."

"This is your business," he told her hotly, then gave Noah a push. "You chicken?"

"I'm not some object to be one!" Rachel said loudly. "My refusal is for me, not because of anyone else."

But Finn would not be dissuaded, which was how the glee club found themselves gathered in the auditorium. Finn was very serious about the whole thing, while everyone else was more than a little exasperated.

Backed by the jazz band, Finn began his song.

_Ah ah ah ah_  
><em>Ah ah ah ah<em>  
><em>Ah ah ah oh<em>  
><em>Ah ah ah ah<em>

_I always knew you were the best_  
><em>The coolest girl I know<em>  
><em>So prettier than all the rest<em>  
><em>The star of my show<em>  
><em>So many times I wished<em>  
><em>You'd be the one for me<em>  
><em>But never knew you'd get like this<em>  
><em>Girl what you do to me<em>

_[Pre-chorus:]_  
><em>You're who I'm thinking of<em>  
><em>Girl you ain't my runner up<em>  
><em>And no matter what you're always number one<em>

_My prize possession_  
><em>One and only<em>  
><em>Adore ya girl I want ya<em>  
><em>The one I can't live without<em>  
><em>That's you that's you<em>  
><em>You're my special little lady<em>  
><em>The one that makes me crazy<em>  
><em>Of all the girls I've ever known<em>  
><em>It's you, it's you<em>  
><em>My favorite, my favorite<em>  
><em>My favorite, my favorite girl<em>  
><em>My favorite girl<em>

_You're used to going out your way_  
><em>To impress these Mr. Wrongs<em>  
><em>But you can be yourself with me<em>  
><em>I'll take you as you are<em>  
><em>I know they said believe in love<em>  
><em>It's a dream that can't be real<em>  
><em>So girl let's write a fairytale<em>  
><em>And show 'um how we feel<em>

_[Pre-chorus]_

_My prize possession_  
><em>One and only<em>  
><em>Adore ya girl i want ya<em>  
><em>The one I can't live without<em>  
><em>That's you that's you<em>  
><em>You're my special little lady<em>  
><em>The one that makes me crazy<em>  
><em>Of all the girls I've ever known<em>  
><em>It's you, it's you<em>  
><em>My favorite, my favorite<em>  
><em>My favorite, my favorite girl<em>  
><em>My favorite girl<em>  
><em>Baby it's you<em>  
><em>My favorite, my favorite<em>  
><em>My favorite, my favorite girl<em>  
><em>My favorite girl<em>

_You take my breath away_  
><em>With everything you say<em>  
><em>I just wanna be with you<em>  
><em>My baby my baby oh<em>  
><em>Promise to play no games<em>  
><em>Treat you no other way<em>  
><em>Than you deserve 'cause you're the girl of my dreams<em>

_My prize possession_  
><em>One and only<em>  
><em>Adore ya girl I want ya<em>  
><em>The one I can't live without<em>  
><em>That's you that's you<em>  
><em>You're my special little lady<em>  
><em>The one that makes me crazy<em>  
><em>Of all the girls I've ever known<em>  
><em>It's you, it's you<em>

_My prize possession_  
><em>One and only<em>  
><em>Adore ya girl I want ya<em>  
><em>The one I can't live without<em>  
><em>That's you that's you<em>  
><em>You're my special little lady<em>  
><em>The one that makes me crazy<em>  
><em>Of all the girls I've ever known<em>  
><em>It's you, it's you<em>  
><em>My favorite, my favorite<em>  
><em>My favorite, my favorite girl<em>  
><em>My favorite girl<em>  
><em>My favorite, my favorite<em>  
><em>My favorite, my favorite girl<em>  
><em>My favorite girl<em>

As the saying, Rachel considered the implications of what he had chosen to sing. Sure, the song praised her, but it was also insulting. It made it clear that he considered her a possession, something important in relation to himself, not as an individual.

Combined with the fact that he seemed incapable of accepting that she'd turned him down, it was just maddening.

The triumphant look on his face and made her wonder if he somehow thought this was going to win her heart. Maybe she'd taken him back to many times and he assumed that she would always return.

Noah took the stage next, his guitar in hand.

_She's an extraordinary girl,  
>In an ordinary world,<br>And she can't seem to get away_

_He lacks the courage in his mind,_  
><em>Like a child left behind,<em>  
><em>Like a pet left in the rain<em>

_She's all alone again,_  
><em>Wiping the tears from her eyes<em>  
><em>Some days he feels like dying,<em>  
><em>She gets so sick of crying<em>

_She sees the mirror of herself,_  
><em>An image she wants to sell,<em>  
><em>To anyone willing to buy<em>

_He steals the image in her kiss,_  
><em>From her heart's apocalypse,<em>  
><em>From the one called whatsername<em>

_She's all alone again,_  
><em>Wiping the tears from her eyes<em>  
><em>Some days he feels like dying<em>  
><em>She gets so sick of crying<em>

_She's all alone again,_  
><em>Wiping the tears from her eyes<em>  
><em>Some days he feels like dying<em>  
><em>Some days it's not worth trying,<em>  
><em>Now that they both are finding,<em>  
><em>She gets so sick of crying<em>

_She's an extraordinary girl,_  
><em>an extraordinary girl,<em>  
><em>an extraordinary girl,<em>  
><em>an extraordinary girl<em>

She did have tears in her eyes when he finished, and Finn hopped up from his seat to glare at her. "You're not buying that, are you? If you think I'm not New York enough, why is he different?"

"Dude, give it a rest," Noah snapped. "I'm not trying to convince her not to marry you. Do I think it's a good idea? Hell no, but that's your business. She said no. Suck it up. She's going to New York and you're not."

"I could go," Finn insisted. "It's a big city, probably plenty of jobs. And why'd you sing if you weren't trying to beat me?"

Everyone, even Rachel, watched as the two young men faced off on the stage. Noah shook his head and said, "You insisted on a sing off, not me. We should see who won."

Finn smirked and turned to face the rest of the club. "What did everyone think?"

"Puck won," Quinn answered for the group and everyone nodded.

While Finn sputtered, people began to trickle out of the auditorium. Rachel hung around in the shadows, when she heard Noah say, "Just let her go. She's New York. You're not and that's not necessarily a bad thing. But we're 18, man. It's time to figure out what we want out of our lives and to do that we gotta live. Settling down because you think it's safe won't make you happy."

The sigh Finn let out echoed through the room. "How are you dealing with being stuck here?"

Noah paused. "I'm not. I got into NYU. I'm going to study musical theory and composition."

"That's huge," Finn breathed, weird jealousy forgotten momentarily. "How come you never told anyone?"

Noah shrugged. "No one cares."

Rachel had to acknowledge that sometimes everyone did get caught up in their own things and if Noah wasn't getting into trouble they tended to ignore him. As she left the auditorium, she thought that was a little sad.

Quickly scrolling a note, she stuck it into Noah's locker as she left for the day.

_I think you're extraordinary too, Noah_.

Comments, pretty please?


End file.
